My Son Is Goofy-footed.

With Maxim's selfish use of the boat lately everyone else's riding time has been cut, but I knew this was coming some day.  It is what happens when you play the same sport as your children at the same time...you start to sacrifice, don't get me wrong, I couldn't be happier than when I get to see my kids ripping behind the boat.

So with kids, the oldest one does something and the younger follows...right away, setting the standard for the youngest to do it too.  No, Kolby didn't wakeboard at 2 years old, she is still just a skimskier, but Brecken has been wakeboarding lately....but only about 20 or 30 feet before he would start to be pulled over the front of the board.

I was getting super frustrated that he couldn't lean back and ride once he was up.  So last night we went over to a section of beach that is pretty open and I wanted to pull him on the wakeboard by running beside on the shore, hoping that he would figure out just how hard he needed to pull to stay behind the board instead of falling out the front all the time.

So my trusting 5 year old laid back in about 2 foot of water and I readied myself to be "the boat"...he said hit it and I took off running......you know that moment in life where you had "the enlightenment"....like the way you were trying to do something HAD to be the right way, but then you did it the exact opposite and it worked perfectly?  Yeah, I had that moment last night as a frustrated coach, dad and wakeboard bro.

Everyone, even if you don't know what a wakeboard is, has a surf stance...you are either regular or goofy footed.  The easiest way to tell what you are is to pretend you are on a skateboard and then figure out what foot you would push off the ground with. The foot you push with is your back foot in the wakeboard.

 I am a regular footed rider (left foot forward) when I skateboard and wakeboard, but when I snowboard I ride goofy or right foot forward.  I have no idea why I differ between the 2, I am a bit ambidextrous with my feet... I punt left footed, but can kick field goals pretty equally with either foot...I am sure it is my soccer background.

So back to Brecken, I had been teaching him for the last 2 weeks, with much frustration, to drop his right leg back and ride out of the water on his starts with his left foot forward.  Much to my surprise last night when he popped up out of the water on his own, without dad coaching him...he came up GOOFY and was solid as a rock.  So he went behind the boat and got a couple of short pulls in before he got too cold.

I guess sometimes we have to cast our nets on the other side of the boat in order for things to work out.

So for the record my sons are both left handed hockey players and goofy-footed wakeboarders...I'm the odd man out now...but there is still hope for Kolby!